The Guelph Royals return for Season 100
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie and Kitchener businessman Shawn Fuller bought local professional baseball team, the Guelph Royals. Last year, the Royals, who play in the Southern Ontario-based Intercounty Baseball League (IBL), folded halfway through their 99th season.
“I just remember looking at my wife, Rachel, [after] I heard the team had folded in mid-season, and saying ‘There’s no way we can let this go after 99 years,’” Guthrie said in an interview with The Ontarion.
The Royals will now return to Hastings Field — where they’ve played since 1986 — for opening day in May.
Mayor Guthrie stressed that “everything is not just done now,” reiterating the need for community engagement and support.
Guthrie and Fuller have launched a website in an effort to boost ticket sales and revive the Royals franchise.
“It’s about sitting out with your friends, family, neighbours, coworkers, cheering on a great game in a great league,” Guthrie said.
Both Guthrie and Fuller have been long-time Royals fans. Fuller, a Guelph native, remembers attending games as a kid; Guthrie had high school friends go on to play for the Royals during their professional careers.
The two bought the franchise from former owner Jim Rooney who withdrew the team halfway through the season after a 1-15 start. The team battled poor attendance, withdrawal of sponsors, and accruement of debts throughout last season.
Rooney had to step down from the team after health issues demanded he step away from the team, according to an article in The Record.
Not-for-profit to corporation
Fuller told The Ontarion that he intends to run the organization as a corporation. He continued that the team mitigated the losses by receiving preferred rates on services while maintaining a mandate to provide a social good.
“To be clear, the team never made any money. [The Royals] always lost money […]. The non-profit sounded good on paper, but it really wasn’t practical,” Fuller said.
The Royals’ switch to a corporation is a more “comfortable space” for Fuller with his business background. However, Fuller stressed that the team’s mandate will remain the same.
Fuller is the current President of Canadawide Sports, a sporting goods supplier that operates out of St. George, Ont.
Integrating the U of G student community
Guthrie and Fuller emphasized the need for community outreach.
“The Gryphons bring a high-caliber passion for their athletics, and you’re going to have that same high-caliber professional baseball here in Guelph, so we’re hoping the U of G students are looking forward to [the Royals] being back in Guelph,” said Guthrie.
Fuller agreed with Guthrie in tying the U of G community into the fabric of the team.
“We need to do something to tie this back into the University, and make it a bit of a spectacle for students. First, let’s make sure the baseball is not a joke. But let’s do a promo night for the students of U of G,” Fuller said, noting that if students had ideas themselves he was “all ears.”
Feature photo provided by Cam Guthrie